A survey looked
at the most significant advances in health care in the past 100 years and there
were numerous answers, most of them predictable. For instance, high tech
machinery like CAT scans and MRIs were mentioned. The development of
various antibiotics and medications to treat high blood pressure were also
listed. All good choices, but certain things did not make the list,
probably because they were not so obvious. The first was suggested by
former Surgeon General C. Everett Koop. When asked about the greatest
invention in his long medical life, he said plastic. Think about it;
being in a hospital with glass tubing for your glass IV. The other
suggestion was the increased importance of studies concerning women. For
decades, women's health was virtually ignored. Even in the situations
where we were dealing with problems that affected both sexes, like heart
disease, women were not studied. The research was done on men and then
applied to women.
